game institute question
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hello i am very interested in the game development and design field and was wondering on the credibility of gameinstitute.com. i am fully capable of teaching myself the basics of the field throught the use of books, software, articles etc. but i would like to know if i were to actually pay for the courses on game institute would the certificate they give me be worth anything. or if you alrdy being professional developers/designers/programmers would recommend that i take the course anyway. i plan on attending full sail real world education in orlando florida. my research has shown me its a good school for getting into fields such as this. but it has alrdy been recommended that i get a head start before actually attending. i would also like to know if any of you know of ways to get funding for school that is a major factor in why i havent enrolled yet. the gov. funding i have researched denies me funding until possibly the age of 25 because im single no kids caucasian im considered a dependent no matter where i live or who supports me. any info will be of great help. thank you for your time and maybe sometime sooner or later we will be working together on a project. hopefully sooner than later ;). btw my email is walkergann81@yahoo for any who wish to send me info there. thank you
In my opinion it sucked. I couldn't believe i wasted $100 on it. And i do believe their certificate is worth crap. I threw mine away when i was done.
They give you game code and hope that you read it and understand it. They don't really teach much which can't be provided in a tutorial. What your paying $100 for a guy to talk to you while you read tutorials, which in my opinion is a dumb reason for $100 or even $50. I could have talked to a C++ Programmer which would probably have taught me it for free better than that guy could. ( i knew C++ before the course but the description said C++ Programmers might even learn a few more tricks from the course which is total b*lls***.)
Go to www.cprogramming.com and learn C++ there, its MUCH better.
Or search on google for other sites.
They give you game code and hope that you read it and understand it. They don't really teach much which can't be provided in a tutorial. What your paying $100 for a guy to talk to you while you read tutorials, which in my opinion is a dumb reason for $100 or even $50. I could have talked to a C++ Programmer which would probably have taught me it for free better than that guy could. ( i knew C++ before the course but the description said C++ Programmers might even learn a few more tricks from the course which is total b*lls***.)
Go to www.cprogramming.com and learn C++ there, its MUCH better.
Or search on google for other sites.
Well first off I've taken two courses from Game Institute (the first was almost 4 years ago) - The BSP course and an AI seminar. The BSP class is beyond top notch, the two teachers Gary & Adam are overall really helpful and continue to update the information all the time.
As for the certification available, it's a major bonus because GI is becoming well known to many developers. Check this link for their full "statement": http://www.gameinstitute.com/sitefaq.php#2.1
As for Full-sail.... I've heard lots of 'interesting' things about them. A friend of mine who was enrolled there was able to get a solid job after finishing his classes. But his words where that all he learned was how to work with other people on a team and spent a large sum of money. So that can go either way :)
Overall, good luck man!
-Nate S.
BTW: If you are interested in working with a small indie team feel free to contact me at nstrg AT hotmail DOT com (my team's domain is on the fritz currently..)
As for the certification available, it's a major bonus because GI is becoming well known to many developers. Check this link for their full "statement": http://www.gameinstitute.com/sitefaq.php#2.1
As for Full-sail.... I've heard lots of 'interesting' things about them. A friend of mine who was enrolled there was able to get a solid job after finishing his classes. But his words where that all he learned was how to work with other people on a team and spent a large sum of money. So that can go either way :)
Overall, good luck man!
-Nate S.
BTW: If you are interested in working with a small indie team feel free to contact me at nstrg AT hotmail DOT com (my team's domain is on the fritz currently..)
The GameInstitute experience really depends on the 'student' and the kind of determinationa and perseverance he has. I took the BSP and the Direct3D course and they were both excellent. From the stuff I learned there I was able to make a 3D demo ( click ) which eventually led to me having a job in the games industry for a big company.
I'm not saying that this will happen to you, but that it depends on how hard you work and how much you study. I really recommend GameInstitute, it got me started on the right path.
I'm not saying that this will happen to you, but that it depends on how hard you work and how much you study. I really recommend GameInstitute, it got me started on the right path.
Have you looked into Digipen? I attend there and as of last year the school has qualified for federal studen aid programs (FAFSA stuff) in addition they have relationships with a few banks and I did not have any trouble securing loans. Also, from what I've heard, digipen offers more a bit more of a traditional CS background throughout the program.
I guess it depends on what you want from your education...
Fullsail, AFAIK, will teach you a graphics api such as OpenGL/D3D, which may be more immediately practicle...
Digipen, on the other hand, will not. We have a more traditional Computer Graphics class where each student writes an engine from scratch, all the way from 2D pixels to 3D scenes with collision. (and thats by the end of 2nd year.)
Personaly I like digipen's approach because I'm the kind of person who likes to know how things work. If you just want to get things done and don't care, you might like fullsail's approach better.
I think they cost roughly the same.
I guess it depends on what you want from your education...
Fullsail, AFAIK, will teach you a graphics api such as OpenGL/D3D, which may be more immediately practicle...
Digipen, on the other hand, will not. We have a more traditional Computer Graphics class where each student writes an engine from scratch, all the way from 2D pixels to 3D scenes with collision. (and thats by the end of 2nd year.)
Personaly I like digipen's approach because I'm the kind of person who likes to know how things work. If you just want to get things done and don't care, you might like fullsail's approach better.
I think they cost roughly the same.
I don't know what the gameinstitue classes are like. But I started taking a game programming class at my college this semester. So far I've been really disappointed as the teacher knows virtually nothing about game programming, let alone directx.
I've been teaching myself game programming for the last two years just from reading forums, books, articles, online tutorials, etc.. I've really enjoyed it because unlike my game programing class I get to make what I think is fun and skip all the busy work the teacher assings. Moreover I can go at my own pace. I can spend a week on one subject and 5 seconds on another. Most everything can be found all online for free. This has really worked out well for me. I think you should try out a course if you're really that interested. Then if you like it take more. I would also at least try to learn from online resources. It's lots of fun!
I've been teaching myself game programming for the last two years just from reading forums, books, articles, online tutorials, etc.. I've really enjoyed it because unlike my game programing class I get to make what I think is fun and skip all the busy work the teacher assings. Moreover I can go at my own pace. I can spend a week on one subject and 5 seconds on another. Most everything can be found all online for free. This has really worked out well for me. I think you should try out a course if you're really that interested. Then if you like it take more. I would also at least try to learn from online resources. It's lots of fun!
Some of the teachers listed on that site have written some nice books, but as a rule I wouldn't trust anyone anywhere who offers to teach you "game programming" in exchange for money. If you need to pay someone to teach you the kinds of things they're teaching, the game industry will probably have no interest in you.
In my honest opinion the courses offered at GameInstitute are well worth the money.
To people saying "you can just find the info online".. well yes, honestly you may be able to find everything from a course online. Although don't mix that up with the fact that the courses are structured well and put everything in front of you in the best order for learning (also including audio lectures, as some times it is easy to have something 'click' by hearing it rather than reading). You avoid mistakes, and instead of just learning GL, or DirectX, you will actually learn how to build an engine and why/how it works.
Sure you can be copy/paste coder number 100000000 that has come and gone from this site and NeHe's, but the GI courses teach a lot more than just copy/paste.
Honestly can anybody that says it isn't worth the money explain to me the pipeline and how it really works? Or do you just know how to copy a certain function name and have it work?
To people saying "you can just find the info online".. well yes, honestly you may be able to find everything from a course online. Although don't mix that up with the fact that the courses are structured well and put everything in front of you in the best order for learning (also including audio lectures, as some times it is easy to have something 'click' by hearing it rather than reading). You avoid mistakes, and instead of just learning GL, or DirectX, you will actually learn how to build an engine and why/how it works.
Sure you can be copy/paste coder number 100000000 that has come and gone from this site and NeHe's, but the GI courses teach a lot more than just copy/paste.
Honestly can anybody that says it isn't worth the money explain to me the pipeline and how it really works? Or do you just know how to copy a certain function name and have it work?
Just thought I would mention that I have people doing the courses at both game-institute and gameversity.com and there has been nothing but postitive reviews of both places..
Assuming that you can learn everything gameinstitute.com teaches you, is the degree or certificate they give you worth anything in the industry?
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